Bytes of bites mostly about fresh NoCal eats...with other random bits about NYC and other places. Brought to you by the letter "E."

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Eat Real Festival: Review & Tips

Imagine a waterfront parking lot filled with trendy and popular San Francisco area food trucks and farm products. That's Eat Real for you. Scroll down for tips and what to expect, including photos from the farmers' market there.

Proselytizing "sustainable," "local," and "organic," these trucks feature everything from Indian burritos to Pan-African vegetarian food to empanadas to lumpia to steamed dumplings. Reflecting the LA Korean food scene, there were also many Korean eateries featuring fusion.

Portion size could be smaller and prices cheaper. Most entrees were $5 and large enough for a meal (for a petite person or child). Hard to try everything you want without risking being gurney-ed out.

Tried this last year. Fun to see the gargantuan-sized pans. But I didn't find the paella to be flavorful though not bad for having been made in such a ginormous quantity. But I wasn't going to wait in line for this again.

Drink tickets are obtained in a separate booth, centrally located. I found out the hard way, but it was easy enough to purchase my drink ticket.

Pomegranate kombucha. I am not enough of a connoisseur to know if it was high quality kombucha or not (I have only had GT's before)...it reminded me of beer without the alcoholic kick, flavored with pomegranate essence... Not unlike GT's.

Straus Farms - the dairy that lots of high-end restaurants seem to use.

If only I had more stomach space...

The Farmers' Market at the Eat Real Festival

The farmers' market at Eat Real is "inside" and features produce, olive oil, baked goods, and prepared foods.

Gorgeous colors, as are typical of Bay Area farmers' markets in summer.

These swirly "Spicy Veggie Wraps" from Tofu Yu, new to the food scene and local, are light and appetizing, making for a great summer snack. The veggies inside taste crispy fresh.

Bolani (flatbread) from Bolani (company)--my new obsession. The spinach bolani is their best seller and man! It is no wonder why. I bought a package that day and then went to Andronicos that week and bought three more packages. I had it for dinner four times that week. Will be writing more about this place in a coming blog.

Quesero Salazar

How could I not photograph these blue beauties. I have no idea how they taste but they make for great camera candy.